The old-school dining practice of handing some guests a menu without prices stands its ground.

Restaurant Le Cinq, Paris

Restaurant Le Cinq, Paris

Forty years ago, this was a common scenario at the world's most refined restaurants: A couple goes out to dinner, and the waiter gives the man, presumed host and breadwinner, a menu with prices, while the woman gets one without. The tradition of menus without prices, also called blind or guest menus, persists today, but more as a quirky vestige of a bygone era—restaurants have had to adapt to modern social mores without making presumptions that offend the customer. Here, we have compiled a short list of some of the best restaurants around the world that continue to offer blind menus—much to the delight, surprise, and confusion of their customers.

This Parisian standby preserves a longstanding practice of offering menus without prices. "This is an old tradition in France in elegant gastronomic restaurants," Caroline Mennetrier, senior director of public relations for the hotel, says. The restaurant has even watched the menus play a part in marriage proposals, as nervous fiancés-to-be sweat through elaborate meals, including pink champagne, caviar, and truffles, ordered off the priceless menu by unsuspecting girlfriends.

Spondi, Athens

Spondi, Athens

At Spondi, blind menus are given to women, children, and business guests every day. But what happens when it is hard to tell host from guest? Recently, a man hoping to surprise his male partner for their anniversary requested one menu without prices. To distinguish between himself and the object of his affection, he let restaurant manager Christian Potelle know he'd show up in a red tie and a blue shirt.